The Importance of Proper Subfloor Preparation for Successful Tile Installations

Proper subfloor preparation is crucial for successful tile installations. Large format tiles can easily overcome unevenness, but it's still important to have a flat surface within reason. Using materials like ARDEX Feather Finish or patching materials that don't require priming can make life easier and reduce the amount of work required with thin-set trying to build up the subfloor.

Having a flat surface also reduces the need for DITRA, which is often used to mitigate the thickness difference between tile layers. However, knowing the thickness of your material and what you're going to use to create a transition before starting the project is essential. If you're using materials that are too thick, it can be challenging to make a nice transition with hardwood or carpet in adjacent rooms.

In addition to subfloor preparation, the layout of tile installation is also crucial. Creating a center line and making equal distances on both sides of the room can help ensure even spacing, but the most important thing is the visual area of the bathroom that everyone will see. Squaring your tile layout off of an object like a tub or shower is essential to achieve a seamless look.

Some areas, like vanities, can hide cuts and minor imperfections, so it's not always necessary to have perfect symmetry. However, when possible, it's best to strive for perfection in the visual areas of the bathroom. This includes using pattern tile at transitions, such as where the shower meets the floor, as uneven cuts in pattern tile can be easily noticeable.

Using penny tiles or smaller mosaics is another effective way to create a seamless look in tile installations. One popular product that makes this possible is ARDEX WA, an epoxy grout that doubles as an adhesive. By using this product, you can eliminate the need for thin-set and ensure a smooth, even installation with no gaps between the grout line.

The benefits of using ARDEX WA are numerous. It eliminates the risk of thin-set oozing up between the grout lines, which can be time-consuming to clean up. Instead, it allows for a quick and easy installation process that results in a single, cohesive formation of tile. This product is also color-matched to ensure that it blends seamlessly with the surrounding area.

In conclusion, proper subfloor preparation, careful planning, and attention to detail are essential for successful tile installations. By following these tips and using products like ARDEX WA, you can create beautiful, seamless tile installations that enhance the appearance of your bathroom or kitchen. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a DIY novice, with practice and patience, you can achieve professional-looking results that will last for years to come.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enToday I want to give you seven tips that Ithink you must know if you’re installingtile floors in your bathroom, or any floorfor that matter. And my seventh one you’llreally like because it makes installing mosaicsmuch easier and maintenance-free.Okay, so tip #1—and I think is probablyone of the most important parts of installinga tile floor—and that is knowing what yourexisting subfloor is. You don’t want tobe installing your tile over existing vinylor, for most circumstances, over existingtile. You need to get down to that originalsubfloor surface and find out how thick itis because this is going to determine whatkind of tile you can install over top of it.In my experience, a lot of homes that werebuilt after 1980s, they started using 5/8-inchthick plywood, and a lot of circumstances,that is not thick enough for the deflectionthat you need for tile installation. Typically,you want to have a subfloor that’s ¾ ofan inch thick and over joists that are 16inches on center. An easy way to determinethat is sometimes you can pull off a ventfrom the edge of the room and measure howthick that flooring is. And whether you have16 inches on center is just looking at thenail pattern of that existing subfloor andalso where the butt joints of the plywoodis.Most of the time you’re going to have 16inches on center, but it’s an importantconcept to understand and know what you’regoing to be installing over. Tile requiresvery little deflection for it to be soundand crack-free.Okay, so tip #2 is determining what type oftile you’re installing. Now you might’vealready chosen the tile before you’re evenlooking at this video. But it’s importantto know what kind of tile you’re installing.If you’re installing porcelain tile, thisis probably the most durable type of tile,and it has the least amount of deflectionthat you would need in a floor. Or going withsomething like marble. Now marble is goingto require additional support of your floormost likely. Stone, especially something likemarble, requires a much stiffer surface toadhere your tile to that floor. And on thetopic of marble, I have to say I typicallytry to talk people out of using marble onfloors and in their bathrooms. And the mainreason is is that it’s soft, especiallyif it’s a high-gloss tile that’s easyto scratch. But more importantly, it’s porous,and it constantly needs maintenance. And itcan be easily dyed or stained by a lot ofthe soaps and different things that we use.So marble, even though it’s beautiful andit’s a classic look, might not be the bestbet to use for a long-lasting bathroom.The third tip is you need to isolate yourwood subfloor from your tile. Wood speciesalways expands and contracts, and it’s alwaysa good idea to isolate that separation. Soyou’ve probably all seen the orange thata lot of people are using called Schluter-DITRA,that is a great option to isolate the woodsubfloor from your tile layer. One of themain big reasons that people like to use itis not only is it waterproof—which is greatfor a bathroom—but also, it gives a verythin layer and gives you the thinnest capabilityat your transition to your doorway. So goingwith something like DITRA not only waterproofs,but it separates that tile layer.Now, if you’re going with something likea smaller mosaic—say, for instance, likethis penny tile—you’re going to want tohave something at the smooth, flat surface.The waffle of a DITRA mat would not be suitablefor this, nor does Schluter actually wantyou to use that. You might want to go withcement board. Cement board is not structural.But when you apply and install it correctlywith thin-set underneath it and use the screwsin the pattern, it does make a nice, rocksolid surface. But other than that, I don’tuse cement board at all. All that it reallydoes, it does nothing for structure for number.And secondly, it just raises the height ofthe bathroom floor for really no good reasonin most situations. And on top of it, it’snot waterproof. So you have to do a thirdstep by making it waterproof. In my mind,cement board is really… not too many situationsthat you really need to use it.So the fourth tip is to make sure that yoursubfloor is flat and sound. I do get a lotof questions about really small amounts ofdifference in levelness. In my personal opinion,if you put a 6-foot level or a 6-foot straightedge and you put a level on it, if it’sunder ¼-inch, just kind of leave it alone.It’s a lot of effort with floor levelingand everything else to correct a ¼-inhch.And typically that’s not going to reallyhinder anything in the bathroom for the mostpart. But making sure that it’s flat isreally important when you’re doing smallertiles. Large format tiles can pretty mucheasily overcome unevenness. And a great wayto feather out an uneven joint is using somethinglike ARDEX Feather Finish or a patching materialthat you can go right over the subfloor; doesn’trequire any priming. I mean, literally takes20 minutes and you’re ready to go and tile.It just makes life a lot easier, and you’redoing a lot less work with thin-set tryingto build things up. So having a flat surfacewithin reason is really important for tileinstallations.Okay, so all this talk about subfloor thicknessand isolating the plywood from your tile layerbrings you to the biggest problem that wesee. And that is the transition from yourbathroom floor to the other rooms in yourhome, knowing what that thickness is. Thisis one of the main reasons that DITRA is used.It reduces the size of that transition. Mostlikely you’re going to have either hardwoodor carpet at your transition, so you reallywant to keep your tile installation belowan inch. I always dread anything over an inchbecause it’s really tough to make a nicetransition work when it’s an inch or taller.So knowing the thicknesses of your materialand what you’re going to be using to makethat transition before you start is reallyimportant. You might not want to use thatmarble that is a ½-inch thick if you’regoing to end up with an inch and a half transitionat the doorway. So always think about thatahead of time before you start the bathroom.Okay, so my number six tip is about the layoutof your tile. I see so many videos that aregoing into: create your center line, go offof that, make equal distances on the otherside of the room; that’s all important,and that’s a great reference. But in mymind, the most important thing is the mostvisual area of the bathroom and what everyoneis going to see. Making sure that you’resquaring your tile layout off of that object.So if you have a tub, I think it’s mostimportant to have all your tile even and straightagainst that tub line. If you’re doing acurbless shower, very important to start outwith a full tile at that transition, especiallypattern tile. Pattern tile, you cut a halfinch off, and you could tell someone cut ahalf inch off. So you really want to makesure that the layout fits your bathroom, andlook at the visual areas that make the mostsense to make sure that everything equallylooks good in the bathroom. There’s areaslike vanities that you can hide cuts. So evenif you ended up with a 2-inch sliver wherethere’s going to be a vanity, I mean thevanity covers the whole area, so it doesn’treally matter. So always just kind of lookat a higher scope of what you’re doing andmaking sure that the visual areas are theplaces that you’re going to be placing thetile properly.So my final tip—I’m really excited toshare with you—and that is with using pennytile or smaller mosaics is using an Epoxygrout that is also an adhesive. Not all Epoxygrouts can do this. There’s one in particularthat I’ve been using for the last few years,and that’s called ARDEX WA. They actuallyrecommend it to be not only as a grout, butyou can actually use it as an adhesive toinstall the tile. And what I really love aboutthis is it really makes it a lot easier toinstall because I’m not worried about thethin-set oozing up between the grout linebecause it’s grout and it’s the same coloras it. So I install it using a ¼” x ¼”trowel; I embed it with the grout float; anythingthat comes up, all I do is clean it off smoothand clean, and the next day I grout it withthe same product, and it’s all one, cohesiveformation of tile. So in my mind, I don’tthink you can get any better than installingtile with an adhesive that is also the grout.So give us a thumbs up if this video helpedyou out; it helps other people find this video.We want to make sure that you’re gettingall the great information to help you outwith your project. And if you’re still alittle bit confused about tile floors or bathroomremodeling in general, check out our siteat Bathroom Repair Tutor. We have over 230videos on step-by-step on how to remodel yourbathroom and do it right.So check us out, and we’ll see you in thenext video.\n"